Tusky Valley Crash Suspect Indicted on 26 CountsTusky Valley Crash Suspect Indicted on 26 Counts A grand jury in Licking County has indicted 61-year-old Jacob McDonald of Zanesville on 26 counts related to the fatal crash that claimed the lives of three Tusky Valley band members and three chaperones last November. The six aggravated vehicular homicide charges against McDonald stem from the crash, which occurred when his semi-trailer struck a vehicle carrying chaperones and a charter bus carrying band members. The Ohio State Highway Patrol report indicated that McDonald was following too closely and failed to slow down when traffic backed up from an earlier crash. In addition to the aggravated vehicular homicide charges, McDonald faces 20 lesser counts of vehicular assault and assault. Twenty other Tusky Valley students were injured in the crash. McDonald was held in the Licking County Jail on a $1 million bond. Three families have filed wrongful death lawsuits against McDonald, the trucking company, and the dealership that sold the truck. Victims Remembered Those killed in the crash were students John Mosley, Jeffrey Worrell, and Katelyn Owens, along with chaperones Dave Kennat, Kristy Gaynor, and Shannon Wigfield. Their memory continues to be honored by the Tusky Valley community and beyond.
NEWARK (WJER) (July 22, 2024) โ Charges have now been filed in the crash that killed three Tusky Valley band members and three chaperones in November of last year.
A Licking County grand jury last week indicted 61-year-old Jacob McDonald of Zanesville on 26 counts, including six counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, a third-degree felony.
McDonald drove the semi that rear-ended the vehicle carrying the chaperones and the charter bus carrying Tusky Valley band members.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol report said the semi was following too close behind and failed to slow down when traffic started to back up from an earlier crash.
McDonald was held in the Licking County Jail Monday morning on a $1 million bond. In addition to the six aggravated vehicular homicide charges, he faces 20 lesser counts of vehicular assault and assault. Twenty other Tusky Valley students were injured in the crash.
Those killed in the crash were students John Mosley, Jeffrey Worrell and Katelyn Owens, along with Dave Kennat, Kristy Gaynor and Shannon Wigfield.
Three families have filed wrongful death lawsuits against McDonald, the trucking company and the dealership that sold the truck.
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